About half of the students in a math course at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) scored less than 26 percent on their final exams, sparking a heated debate about the current state of higher education.
The course MAT224 — Linear Algebra II is a compulsory course in the third-year mathematics program at UTM and one of many courses available to students as they complete the requirements of the mathematics major in their second year of college.
According to an email sent to students, the teacher revealed that the average score on the final exam was 29 percent, and 94 out of 110 students got an F, which means that 85 percent of students got a fail and only one student got an A.
Classroom teachers have never seen such a low average score on an exam. We have deeply reflected on the possible reasons for this. In particular: whether our exams are fair and whether they are appropriately graded. The weight of theory in the exam is greater than that of calculations, but this also reflects how the written assignments focus on theory"The email reads.
We basically believe that exams are fair, and that the course materials (slides, tutorials, quizzes, and assignments) set students up for success. Still, we expect too much from questions that require long answers to provide complete answers, so we give some bonus points to make up some of the gaps. This method was chosen to reward students who made some progress on very long answer questions"。
According to a UTM spokesperson in an interview with UTM's official student newspaper, The Vartsity, 284% of students did not pass the course, and most of them did not even take the final exam. The spokesperson said that 93 percent of the students who actually took the test ended up passing the course.
The questions on the exam are not difficult, but there are many students who say it'God, I wish I had taken a look at that slide before the exam' "。An unnamed mat224 student said:"I know that if I had looked at the relevant slides before the exam, some of the questions would have scored 100 points. "
The student said:"There weren't a lot of calculations in the exam, which was a bit surprising because my classmates and I practiced a lot of matrix factorization calculations. "
The course itself was good, with weekly quizzes and the assignments challenging"The student also noted that the professor of the course remains"One of the best math professors at UTM", he said they never missed a single of his classes.
Another mat224 student, who asked not to be named, said that many people may find the course a bit challenging due to their unfamiliarity with vectors.
With thorough practice, lots of YouTube**, and rereading passages in the textbook that you find difficult, you can see that your grades will improve"They said.
Last month, a post discussing the low average score on the course's final exams went viral on Reddit, with multiple students and teaching assistants (teaching assistants outside of the course) giving their opinions on what contributed to the poor grades.
I took MAT224 last year and it definitely wasn't that bad (the final grade average was a C+). I wonder what happened this year"A former student wrote.
Instead of immediately placing the blame on the professors in question, many criticized some of the pre-math courses that students were required to take early.
Some argue that while the course itself is successful, the final exams don't accurately test what students have learned, while others point to pandemic-related impacts that may be impacting students, especially those whose high schools have been closed for most of the pandemic due to the pandemic.
According to statistics presented to the Board of Health by Toronto Public Health (TPH) staff in 2023, more mental health resources are needed for children and youth who continue to be negatively impacted by lockdowns.
Toronto Public Health staff found that 59 percent of Ontario students reported that school closures made them depressed about the future, and 39 percent reported that school closures worsened their mental health.
Data** from the Toronto Population Health Profile (2023), the Ontario Student Substance Use and Health Survey (2022), and the 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity Participation of Children and Youth.
A 2023 report from Statistics Canada also found that the pandemic has caused adverse changes in teens' health behaviours, with the report showing that the proportion of teens who meet the recommended time for using electronic devices while in school has increased from 40 in 20187% down to 13 in 20212%。
My first-year student (who I teach at another university) suddenly couldn't remember the core of the course—testing during the pandemic and now reliance on ChatGPT meant that students had gone through three years of important formative years that didn't develop test-taking skills"A professor wrote under a reddit thread.